


Son

by sentient_bees



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Baby Peter Parker, F/M, Gen, James "Rhodey" Rhodes is a Good Bro, Michelle Jones Is a Good Bro, Ned Leeds is a Good Bro, Peter Parker Has a Family, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Pre-Canon, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, major character deaths
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-03-20
Packaged: 2019-11-12 01:16:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18001025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sentient_bees/pseuds/sentient_bees
Summary: "It takes a village to raise a child."Peter Parker has lost throughout his whole life; time and time again the people he loves are being pushed into their graves.But that doesn't mean that he can't find happiness, in the end.-------This work is synced to "The Giver" orchestral soundtrack. Highly recommend listening to it as the story progresses; best viewed on a computer.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pw7fHCEnE8&list=PLimjwGJNraZ5CVjMwPpVepCt8UQKWivhN&index=1Music is a language. Learn to speak it.-------Pre-canon recap of Peter's life with his parents (all five of them). Leads up to / surpasses canon events. Made stuff up to cover for the time between Homecoming and Infinity War, as well as after, and I'll try to follow canon events in Endgame but I may just have to fix-it because I don't like the ending. Major character death tagged for obvious reasons.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! So I know I should be working on I Will Sing No Requiem but I'm a bit stuck and I've had this idea in my head for weeks. I HIGHLY recommend listening to this soundtrack as you read. ALL orchestral, no words. It correlates to the scene, not unlike a movie:
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pw7fHCEnE8&list=PLimjwGJNraZ5CVjMwPpVepCt8UQKWivhN&index=1
> 
> Checkpoints will provide links to when a song is recommended. Please let me know what you guys think of this way of reading! <3
> 
> Also, looking for anyone who's willing to provide visuals. :)
> 
> OH and if anyone wants to explain to me how to actually link videos that would be great too feijfoeifjs

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaY2IhwmHPM  
(Track 16: Desert Ride - Duration: 2:19)

 

Moving quietly through the night, Richard Parker came to a halt as he signaled for his men behind him to do the same. He looked around the corner, seeing a guard blocking the entranceway. He slipped around the corner, effectively knocking the man out with the butt of his gun. 

With a simple motion of his hand, the two other men followed him moved forward, their footsteps almost deafening in the quiet of the HYDRA base they had infiltrated.

They entered the room they were targeting. One of the two men moved forward, releasing a smoke bomb into the room and closing the door. Once they had all slipped on their masks, they crept into the room, their gazes watchful and assertive.

There it was.

All of the information that had been stolen from Nick Fury, right there in from of him. Richard advanced towards the computer panels quickly, only stopping when he heard a commotion behind him. 

He whipped around, only to see his two agents on the floor, a red-haired woman standing over them, a menacing look in her eye as she ripped off her gas mask.

All the same, she was beautiful. Rich red curls cascaded just past her shoulders, and freckles dotted her perfect nose. Her lips were painted red, and her eyes bore into him with her stare as she stood with her guard down.

“Captain Richard Parker.”

“Who are you?” He questioned, taking a defensive stance, his weapon pointed at her. 

“I’m Agent Mary Fitzpatrick. Data and analyst for the C.I.A.. I could imagine we’re here on the same mission?”

“Yeah? Well, so were they,” he said, indicating the two men lying on the ground with his gun. 

“Sure. Well, one of them was, really. The other knocked the one out and tried to take you out. I just stopped him. You’re welcome.” 

He studied her, contemplating whether to trust her story or not. He had no time to think, however, as he heard hurried voices coming from down the hall. Mary immediately jumped into action, raising her weapon to point at the door as she made her way to the side of the doorway to keep out of sight. She looked at him, then at a hard drive that was apparently already done downloading, and he grabbed it without a moment's hesitation. 

Three men suddenly appeared in the hallway, their guns trained on Richard. The man lunged forward to take out the first gunman he saw, but Mary was faster. She quickly jumped from her place in the shadows and into action, swinging out her leg to trip the other two men and sent them to the ground, where she held them at gunpoint.

“Drop em’!” She demanded, indicating their guns. By then, Richard had the other guy pinned to the ground with a hand behind his back as he struggled to get out of his steel-like grip. 

“Leave the guy with the brown hair. He’s one of theirs.” She indicated one of the two men that were lying unconscious on the ground as she rendered her opponents unconscious. Richard did the same, landing a hard punch before the other man fell to the ground.

“Looks like they haven’t had time to trip any alarms. Let’s get outta here.” Richard said as he slung his fallen soldier over his shoulder. He lifted two fingers to his ear. “I’ve got a man down, I repeat-- man down. Need air evac immediately. Over.” Once he got the go-ahead, they began to swiftly make their way back to safety. 

As they stalked through the facility, the lights flickering uneasily, it was seemingly abandoned-- by anyone conscious, anyway. They passed many unconscious or even dead guards on their way out. Richard wondered, silently, if that was Mary’s doing.

So he did what any person would do-- he struck up a conversation. 

“So, data, huh?”

“Yep. You?”

“Bioengineering.”

“Huh.”

A woman spoke over the comms then. “You’re approaching the rendezvous point. Ten paces to your left. Over.” 

“Got it. Heading your way. Over.” Richard took a turn, Mary following closely behind as they burst out of one of the last doors and into the frigid night. The wind whipped around them as the helicopter hovered dangerously close, a harness already being lowered towards the ground.

Once they had loaded and were well on their way, Richard sat across from Mary.  
“Individual mission, huh?” He questioned. The woman nodded from her place, her eyes closed as she leaned back. 

“Yeah. Fury doesn’t tell me anything. Sure wish he warned me, I could’ve shot you on the spot.”

“But you didn’t.” 

“No, I didn’t.”

“Why?” She was leaning forward now, her face dangerously close to his own.

“I don’t. . .um. . .I had no reason to.”

“But you did. You just said it yourself. You could have shot me on the spot, but you didn’t. Why did you hesitate? I’ve heard great things about you, but hesitation is not one of them.”

“I-I. . .uh” He stammered, dropping his gaze as he attempted to avoid her chocolate brown eyes.

He could see her smirk in his peripheral vision. “Real smooth, Cap. It’s a date.” 

His head shot up, “What? I didn’t--” before he could finish his sentence, though, she was up and walking towards the pilots, leaning over the seat to get a better view of the skyline and the rising sun. The light captured the hues of her hair perfectly-- in a moment of clarity, it almost looked as if her head were on fire. No--her hair was the fire. 

He looked at her in disbelief before chuckling. 

\------

There were a few other times her hair caught the light like that as if it were the fire, her face covered with freckles. Droplets of light where the sun had kissed her skin. 

He found himself falling hard.

One of these times was a few days after that mission-- that night, where he had watched her watch the sunset, her eyes dancing. He contemplated her beauty, tracing every curve, every single flaw-- from the slight crook in her nose to the way she walked, all tucked away in the back of his mind. He liked to categorize; that’s all he knew. So he did just that. 

The second time was their first date-- at a Gala in France. The ballroom was stunning, with windows that reached towards the sky, intricate designs that curved through the glass and made each one look like a painting-- the setting sun falling through the drapes that fluttered in the wind. A breeze rushed through the room, her dress-- that hung ever so slightly off of her frame, baby blue and dazzling-- swaying ever so slightly as he watched her ascend the stairs in awe and wonder. And her hair-- strands fell and obscured her perfect face; he brushed them back as they stood on a balcony overlooking the city-- and kissed her.

He would be lying if he said he didn’t catch her hair glowing every so often, defining her features in such a way that when she laughed it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Her voice, melodic and seductive, was music to his ears that only he heard. The way she fought, too, was like a dance-- intricate, yet delicate all the same. She easily matched his strength and smarts, traits that only strengthened his love for her. 

But the one time that truly stood out to him was as she walked down the aisle, her hair tucked back into a bun as she wore a simple, slimming white gown that hugged her figure and shimmered in the light pouring in from the church windows. Diamonds dripped from her ears, her lips painted a dark shade of crimson red. Her bouquet, filled with white lilies and baby’s breath-- her favorite, was held in her grasp in front of her. A veil that fell past her shoulders and drifted behind her was outlined in silk patterns depicting flowers and intricate designs. 

The way that her hair caught the sun, that day in the heat of summer, made her glow. She was an angel. And she was his. 

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-D0S505QzU  
(Track 6 - Gabriel Arrives - Duration - 00:58)

It was only fate, that a year later, that glow returned as she and Richard sat side by side in her hospital bed, mid-August, watching their newborn son sleep in her arms. He held her tight as silent tears slid down his face, bringing a hand up to brush across the baby’s cheek. 

“Welcome to the world, Peter. It’s an awfully big place, but we’re here to make it a little bit smaller.” As he said the words, his voice cracked, and something sparked in his chest. Something he had come to recognize as love-- pure, unbridled admiration and pride. Mary looked up at him, then, and pressed her forehead against his as they listened to each other's heartbeats. Their noses brushed, and he kissed her lips, perfect and beautiful. Like the son she now held.

The son that he now loved with his entire being. 

As they rocked back and forth on the porch swing outside their house, Peter cooing in his arms and grappling at his shirt, Richard contemplated what kind of person he would become. Would he become a great man, whether it be through means of charity or by fame, or both-- he didn’t care. As long as he was happy. The boy’s smile broke his heart, and he would do anything to see it, even if it meant crawling to the ends of the Earth.

Mary, tucked into his side let out a sigh as she watched their son. The sun crept over the horizon to show its face to another family, somewhere on the other side of the world, content and alive. 

He held these memories close to his heart as if they would be stolen away if left unprotected. 

\------

Before Peter was born, he asked his brother, Ben, and his fiancee May if they would be the baby’s godparents-- and of course, they accepted without hesitation, despite knowing what the job entailed. They seemingly loved the boy as much as his parents did, taking him in whenever his mother and father had to go away on missions.

But they couldn’t know. No, that would be too much. Better to think they were away on a business meeting. 

Life went on with their new addition to the family, and weeks turned into months, the months ever so slowly morphing into years. Eventually, they would transform into decades.

But for now, Peter was two years old, grappling for his mother as he wined.

“Okay, okay baby,” May chuckled. She handed the toddler off to his mother, his unruly light brown curls bouncing. That’s something he had inherited from his father. His eyes, a deep shade of brown, were from his mother. He was perfect.

He quickly curled in her lap, drifting off as Mary ran her fingers through his unkempt hair lovingly. 

It was a Sunday night at the Ben and May Parker’s apartment, the last light of day leaking away. Ben turned on his reading light as the room grew steadily darker. 

“I can take him,” said Ben, standing up and scooping the sleeping child out of his sister-in-law’s arms. 

“Thank you,” she replied, her touch lingering as he took Peter off of her lap. “I’m sorry we have to go away again. We’ll be back before he even knows we were gone.” 

“It’s no trouble, really-- we love having him stay over.” May smiled with sincerity. 

Once the boy was tucked into bed in the collapsible crib that the couple always had on hand, Richard handed May a suitcase. 

“Make sure he sleeps plenty through the day-- but not too much, or else he’ll wake up later and you don’t want that. There’s baby food in his bag, but he can have a couple of solids, like baby carrots and--”

“Richard.” Ben smiled, putting a hand on his brother’s shoulder in an attempt to calm his nerves. “He’ll be fine. We’ve done this a couple of times, remember? Mary wrote a list-- he’ll be okay.”

The man sighed. “Right. Well, thank you.” And with that, they walked out the door, down the hall and into the night. 

A few days later, they returned, their toddler immediately running to the doors on wobbly legs to greet them. Richard smiled, dropping his things, and hugged his son tight. 

Yeah, things were perfect.


	2. Chapter 2

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pw7fHCEnE8  
(Track 1 - Main Titles - Duration: 3:07)

2019

They say that the universe is too vast and too ancient to have a concept of time. The years are mere seconds in the never-ending clock of reality. It ticks away endlessly, never ceasing, never beginning and never stopping. And the moments that define our lives-- a tenth of a second. And for that tenth of a second, in the big wide universe, was a perfect reality. For those that know the value of time and hold it in the palm of their hand like a precious jewel, comes bittersweet happiness. 

Peter flipped through an old photo book, the pages stiff under his fingers. Smiles and laughs flashed by as he flipped them, back and forth, trying to capture in his mind an age gone by-- trying to live it, if only through a snapshot of a second in time. He flipped through photos of his parents’ wedding-- his father dipping his mother on the dance floor as onlookers smile happily. In some of the photos, they stare out at him, as if to say ‘we’re still here.’ 

At least, that’s what he liked to think. Some bitter part of him only saw their absence, and what could have been if they just hadn’t gotten on that plane that day. If Ben hadn’t been home, where he was shot. If he had stepped up and saved him. If he could somehow trade his life for his. If only. 

Another part of him wants to believe what they said-- that they were always with him, in his heart, watching over him. All of those Sundays and Christmases and Easters spent at church, a place where they honored the dead as if they were standing right beside their families, praying with their heads down and going home to sleep and eat and play. . .

To live.

Instead, they could only bear the weight of their souls as they walked out of the church, leaving a previous life behind them as they looked towards the future. They always told you, to look towards the future and to never look back-- that, somehow, that makes everything okay. 

So why do people have photo albums? 

Perhaps it was because they didn’t want to let go-- they didn’t feel ready. They wanted to remember what that person looked like, in that tenth of a second, small and insignificant yet so beautiful in the universe of endlessness. 

The universe had no shape and no center. The day that they discover the center of the universe is when they discover what we’ve been searching for all this time-- the souls of the forgotten and lost, forever memorialized in photos and videos.

Because the day they discover the center of the universe is the day they discover heaven. 

As he flipped through the pages, pictures of his childhood passing by, he took in details that he otherwise couldn’t remember. The chocolate cake smeared all over his face during his first birthday party, the costume he was wearing during his preschool Christmas play, the countless piggy-back rides, Peter smiling wide in every photo.

What was most striking, however, was the look of pure adoration on his parent’s faces in every photo.

Sometimes he caught May or Tony looking at him like that-- a gaze that he had come to recognize as love and pride. He had come to trust it. And now, sitting on the floor in front of his closet, he saw it in his parent’s faces. 

He wondered why he couldn’t remember them looking like that. 

He scanned a page with several pictures from him and May dipping Easter eggs before realizing why. He had almost no memory of that day in April, or that Christmas play, or any of it. His most vivid memory of his parents was the day that they left, as cruel as it was. 

He can only remember what their faces looked like when they were teary-eyed and had such an air of sadness. The pictures showed them happy and well and alive, but his memories betrayed his perception of what they’re supposed to look like. 

Maybe holding on isn’t such a bad thing after all.

\-----

2005

As Richard chased Peter through their backyard, Mary reclined back in the shade on the bench beneath the old oak tree. Sunspots danced all around, a slight breeze tickling the branches as birds sang. The earth was at peace. 

In that tenth of a second, everything was perfect. 

“I’m gonna get you!” Richard yelled as he chased the four year old around in circles. Peter was giggling madly, his arms failing as he tried to escape his father. 

It was late summer, the heat cooling down, enough so that Mary could wear a sundress and a light cardigan. Richard was in khaki shorts and a t-shirt, and the small boy was adorned with overalls and a red shirt stained with popsicle juice. His light brown curls stuck wildly in all directions, his smile wide and his eyes crinkled as he laughed. A face that the woman would remember forever-- the face of pure, unadulterated joy. 

The boy turned to try and run onto the concrete porch, but fell on his knees. He promptly started to cry, his bloody knees wobbling. Richard rushed to him, scooping up the crying child. 

“Hey! Let’s go inside and get your favorite dinosaur band-aids, huh?” said Richard, and Mary stood up, rushing over to them and opening the back door. 

It wasn’t long before the boy was sitting on the dryer, the window propped open and allowing a small breeze to grace the house. He stuck his fingers in his mouth as Mary cleaned his knees with disinfectant as Richard tried to make him laugh. Some well-placed funny faces and he didn’t feel a thing. Mary picked up a tissue and wiped her son’s face, and he scrunched it up in protest. She chuckled, “Sorry, baby. Do you want some lunch now?” 

“Yeah!” He nodded eagerly, reaching out for her to pick him up. “Can I have the peanut butter? With no crusts?” He said it in such a small voice that Mary’s heart broke. 

“Of course, baby.” She attacked him with kisses, and he giggled and tried to push her away. “Mommy, stop it!” He said. Richard attacked him too, peppering his cheek with kisses so he screamed with laughter. 

As they sat on the kitchen counter, Peter munching away happily on carrot sticks, bananas and peanut butter and jelly squares, she contemplated her little family. Richard sat next to Peter, trying yet failing to shush him long enough to eat his food. She smiled at the interaction. He cared so much about their son that it made her chest ache with love. She had gotten used to the feeling. A family-- a life of your own-- does that sometimes. 

They sat like that for a while, Peter eating his lunch and occasionally trying to feed his father. The man only chuckled and accepted his third baby carrot. “Thanks, bud.” Peter nodded happily as he munched, scraped knees not bothering him in the least as he knelt on the kitchen stool.

It wasn’t long after lunch that the boy passed out on the couch while watching Spongebob, snoring lightly. Mary watched him, content, at home. At peace. 

Which was quickly interrupted by the ringing of the home phone. She cursed under her breath as Peter shifted in his sleep, face contorting in annoyance. 

She quickly picked it up, the ringing silencing as she greeted the caller “Hello, this is Mary Parker.”

“Agent Fitzpatrick,” called a familiar voice from the other end. She froze. “Meet at the rendezvous point in eight hours.” They hung up.  
Mary put the phone down with shaking hands, contemplating the words of one Nick Fury. 

\-------

Mary sat on her bed in her bedroom that night for what she felt might be the last time, folded clothes on her lap. They belonged in the suitcase next to her, but somehow her arms were no longer working.

“I don’t want to leave again,” she said quietly. Richard leaned against the closets door frame, studying her solemn expression. 

Both of them had been agents of SHIELD for almost ten years. Neither of them had shied away from a difficult challenge, but everything changed when Peter was born. They still did missions here and there in addition to their jobs at Oscorp, but hurried home as soon as possible to their baby boy. 

“I know,” he replied, just as quiet. He sensed her hesitation. This would be their most dangerous mission yet. They were being sent out to Germany to take down the Red Skull-- the head of HYDRA itself. On the way, they would be delivering Richard’s genetic research to the UN headquarters in London. This made for a dangerous trip-- precious cargo and a mission that could go wrong in so many ways. 

It didn’t help that the inner circle of people who knew about the Red Skull mission were limited to five people. Nick Fury, Richard, Mary, and two pilots who would be dropping them over the base who were confined to secrecy. 

Mary packed away the rest of her clothes, sighing as it clicked shut. Richard did the same, glancing out at the window, where it was currently storming after a day of summer heat. The sun usually set around nine, but because of the clouds it became much darker much faster at eight o’clock. “Do you think they’ll let us cancel? Doesn’t look like good flight weather.” 

“I doubt it,” she heaved her suitcase up, “Besides, Malik’s in position. We need to catch him off guard, and this is the time to do it.” She paused, staring out at the window with him. “I’ll go wake Peter up.” 

Richard fixed her with a sad stare. “I wish we didn’t have to do this to him.”

“I know, baby,” she wrapped her arms around her husband’s waist, kissing the corner of his mouth. “Me neither.” They shared each other’s space, then, for a few minutes before pulling apart, Mary’s touch lingering on his shoulder before she walked down the hall to Peter’s room.

She quietly opened the door to see the boy sleeping peacefully, his chest rising and falling quietly. He was sprawled awkwardly across the bed, one leg sticking out from under the sheets, where she could see the band-aid from earlier on his knee.

She sighed, knowing that, someday, if he ever became like his parents, he’d be getting far more than cuts and bruises.

Mary moved quietly through the room, careful to avoid any of the colorful toys littered on the floor, and stood over his bed, not wanting to disturb his slumber. She kissed his forehead and lightly shook him awake.

“Mama?” He questioned, rubbing at his eyes with his tiny fists.

“Hey baby,” Mary cooes, “We have to go to Aunt May and Uncle Ben’s house, okay? You’re gonna have a sleepover!” 

The boy’s eyes light up despite his groggy state. Mary looked sad as she watched his oblivious stare. He was so young. So innocent. So pure. 

“Honey? We have to go.” Her husband’s hushed voice and a gentle hand on her shoulder pulled her from her thoughts. 

“Right.” She picked up the suitcase they almost always kept packed for Peter, putting in a few stray things before clicking it shut. Richard picked the boy up, and the family of three were on their way. 

The drive to Ben and May’s house was short. It always was. Mary held Peter close instead of putting him in his carseat, and he was already drifting back to sleep, snuggling into her embrace. Mary held him tight, caressing his hair as she tried to forget what they were about to do.

They made it there relatively quickly, and they ran into the apartment building as fast as they could, rain pouring.

Once they reached the floor they were looking for, Ben was already there and waiting. 

“Hey bud!” Ben greeted after they had walked into the apartment, setting a now-awake Peter on the ground to take his Uncle’s hand. “Let’s go sleep on the couch, huh? You can pick out a movie if you want!” The little boy nodded excitedly as they headed over to the living room. 

May stayed with her brother and sister in-law, giving them both a hug and a kiss and saying their goodbyes. Richard and Mary acknowledged Ben with hugs and then walked over to where Peter was sitting, and crouched down to his level. “Hey, Pete, your mom and I have to go, but we’ll see you soon, okay?” Peter nodded dutifully. “We love you so, so much.” Richard hugged him and placed a kiss on his forehead, Mary moving in to do the same, holding onto him longer than she should have, because he began to squirm. She chuckled, “We love you baby. See you soon.”

“I love you too, Mama!” He said, squealing. He gave her a sloppy kiss on the cheek before she got up and walked over to the door. Her eyes were sad, yet all the same pretended that all was right with the world as they walked out the door.

“We’ll be back in a couple of days at the most,” said Richard.

“I know you will,” said Ben, “See ya later, you jerk.” He smiled and the brothers embraced. 

As they walked down the steps of the old apartment building, Mary looked at where their window was with wistful longing.

She couldn’t know, however, that their perfect world was near shattering to pieces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Highkey just copy and pasted stuff from Requiem for the scene when they leave but it's consistent soooo


End file.
